Corrections, Retractions & Expressions of Concern

The Indo Eurasian Journal of Medical Sciences (IEJMS) is committed to maintaining the integrity and completeness of the published scientific record. We recognise that despite rigorous double-blind peer review and strict editorial screening, errors or ethical breaches may occasionally appear in published articles.

When such issues arise, IEJMS responds promptly and transparently to correct the scholarly record, in strict accordance with the flowcharts and guidelines provided by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

1. The published record

IEJMS considers the published article to be the final, definitive and immutable version of record. Articles that have been published online and assigned a DOI cannot be silently altered or deleted. Any necessary changes to the published record are accompanied by a formal, permanently linked post-publication notice.

2. Corrections (errata and corrigenda)

Corrections are issued for scientifically relevant errors or omissions that do not invalidate the overall results and conclusions of the study.

• Corrigendum (author error). Issued when the authors discover an honest error post-publication: errors in a mathematical formula, a mislabelled figure, or the omission of a funding source or minor contributor.
• Erratum (publisher error). Issued when the journal's production staff introduces a significant error during typesetting or proofing that affects the article's meaning or interpretation — for example, dropping a critical minus sign in a clinical table.

Process for corrections

• The correction notice details the original error and the corrected information.
• The notice is published in the current issue of the journal, assigned its own DOI, and bi-directionally linked to the original article.
• The original article PDF and HTML are updated with the corrected information, along with a footnote directing readers to the formal correction notice.
• IEJMS does not publish corrections for minor typographical or formatting errors that do not impact the scientific meaning or clinical interpretation of the data.

3. Retractions

Retractions are a mechanism to correct the literature and alert readers to publications that contain seriously flawed or erroneous data, such that their findings and conclusions cannot be relied upon. Retractions are not intended to punish authors but to protect the integrity of medical science and patient safety.

Grounds for retraction

IEJMS will retract a published article if there is clear evidence that:

• The findings are unreliable, either as a result of major scientific error such as miscalculation or experimental error, or of fabrication or falsification such as data manipulation or AI-generated datasets.
• The research constitutes plagiarism or significant overlap with previously published work without proper attribution or justification.
• The research relies on unethical practices, such as a lack of required Institutional Review Board approval, failure to obtain informed patient consent, or severe protocol violations.
• There is a failure to disclose a major conflict of interest that, in the editor's view, would have fundamentally altered the peer reviewers' recommendations.
• The authors have used generative AI to create or alter clinical images, methodological frameworks or underlying data.

The retraction process

• A formal retraction notice is published, detailing the specific reasons for the retraction and identifying who initiated it — the authors, the institution, or the Editor-in-Chief.
• The retraction notice is linked bi-directionally to the original article.
• The original article is not removed. The HTML and PDF versions are permanently watermarked with the word RETRACTED across every page. This ensures transparency and preserves the documentary history of the scholarly record.

4. Expressions of concern

An expression of concern is an editorial notice used to alert readers to serious concerns regarding the integrity or validity of a published article while a formal investigation is ongoing.

IEJMS will issue an expression of concern if:

• The editorial board receives credible allegations of research misconduct or data manipulation, but the resulting institutional investigation is expected to be lengthy or complex.
• There are well-founded concerns about ethical compliance — for example patient consent in a clinical trial — that present an immediate risk to public health or clinical guidelines, but conclusive evidence is pending.
• An investigation has concluded, but the results are ambiguous or the authors' institution refuses to cooperate.

If the investigation subsequently confirms misconduct or fatal errors, the expression of concern is superseded by a formal retraction. If the authors are fully exonerated, it is formally resolved and removed from the record.

5. Article removal

The physical removal of a published article from the IEJMS website and archiving databases is an extreme measure and occurs only under the following exceptional circumstances:

• The article contains material that is clearly defamatory, violates personal privacy rights, or is the subject of a legal court order.
• The article presents an immediate, severe and direct threat to public health — for example a lethal dosage error in a clinical protocol that could be acted upon by practitioners.

In such rare cases, the bibliographic metadata (title and authors) is retained, and the text is replaced with a screen indicating that the article has been removed for legal or public health safety reasons.

6. Reporting concerns

IEJMS encourages readers, reviewers and authors to raise concerns regarding any published material. We take all allegations of scientific misconduct seriously.